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Putin Says Ruble Set to Become Regional Reserve Currency
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia is succeeding in its effort to turn the ruble into a regional reserve currency as other former Soviet republics adopt it for trade. “In the post-Soviet space, the ruble is strengthening and becoming a reserve currency,” helping Moscow become an international financial center, Putin told lawmakers in Moscow today. Ukraine has requested settling purchases of energy products in rubles and Belarus uses the currency for 80 percent to 90 percent of its non-cash transactions with Russia, Putin said.